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I've continued to hack away at the arduino code for the z-axis.
I have had more problems getting it to work than I expected !! It took a lot of experimenting to know what the system really needed.

I now have code that is working Rock Solid on all of the test models built in to the Peachy software!
It does not currently work for gcode imported into the software yet.
This appears to be a matter of getting the starting sequence timed properly. The Peachy printer will not start a print job until it gets the right number of drips and the right delay timings right at the start of the print. So it's just a matter of tweaking this pieces.

More updates coming :-)
...believe me! Once I get this working, you won't be able to shut me up !!!

Many additional tweaks to the code were required and it is working VERY well now!!!
It works flawlessly with the 6 builtin test models in the Peachy software.

To test actual gcode files, I have been slicing multiple models to further test the integrity of the arduino code.In doing so, I have encountered a few hickups (these do love to pop up :-)Initially, gcode files would not even start printing but I have solved that :-)
For awhile, one file would work but another wouldn't. So far that looks solved too!

Cura decided to kernel panic my laptop (ver 2.5 & 2.4) so I posted to the forum (hoping for a bug fix).It took a day but a simple solution was posted to the forum and everything is back up and running (corrupt config file).

While that was broken, I decided to figure out how to built the Peachy software for Linux from the github repo. I'm NOT a Linux guy (I do have some experience) and I really didn't think I would figure it out....but I thought "what the hell".
It freakin' worked !!! So I have more up-to-date Peachy software on my Linux box than I do on my Mac !!
I did need to make at least one change to the build script to make it work but it was actually quite easy.
I will eventually write up instructions on how to do it. I will also explore doing the same for the Mac version. There are a few more things to get in place to make that work. Later...

I found a cheap ($4) rectangular bucket at Dollarama and with some minor mods seems to work quite well as the build container !! I would like to replace the build platform with something smaller so It fits better but this is good for now.

Back to Testing…“Printing” models (with glow paper) appears to be working great !! I did discover some Cura settings that are VERY important.The “Build Plate Adhesion” section needs to have “Raft Air Gap” = 0mm and the “Initial Layer Z Overlap” = 0.2mm (or just > zero). I’ve found that when the air gap > 0, the print job will stop b/c a "layer complete" signal will never be sent and the platform will wait forever and never send more drips. The overlap setting is needed to connect the last raft layer and the first object layer. These settings work !

I am re-slicing all my models to have these settings now.I am also running these “prints” for about an hour or more to watch the behaviours of the Peachy and the Platform. This allowed me to find this one setting issue. There are several more settings that I will be optimizing. These are really important to get right. Not only will the print come out great but the gcode files become a LOT smaller too.

“Brass_vs_Alum” is the new brass wire build platform sitting on top of the “original” z-axis build platform. The wire loop is 14cm long by 8cm wide. I have glow paper taped to the original build platform.

“Brass_in_the_Bucket” shows the wire loop in the build container. The old platform was too big and got stuck part way down so it had to be replaced with something smaller. The bar that the wire loop mounts too still runs into the bucket a bit :-(

“Brass&Mesh” is the wire loop with the platform mesh attached. I just used thin wire to attached the mesh and brass wire together.

“ButtonPad” is a control pad for moving the platform up and down. Two buttons to move it all the way up or down and two more for layer by layer movements. Upon further inspection, the arduino looks to only have 3 available digital IO left. Oh well… three buttons I guess.

What’s Next ?!?-Wire button pad to arduino-Update the code to use the buttons-Firmly attach arduino and button pad to z-axis frame (harder than you would think)-Mount Peachy (probably just rest it on the glass lid)-Calibrate peachy to build platform height (which needs to be determined)
-I may also need to buy new resin. It's been about a year since I bought the last bottle.

What’s Next Next ?!?In some of my next posts, I want to start talking about my software idea to improve 3D printing. I would love to get your feedback on it !!

More to come...

Jason

Bonus points to anyone who can guess the computer in the background of the pictures (top left corner)
;-)

the worry for the materials is galvanic corrosion as the water is heavily salted, and dis-similar metals will give galvanic corrosion is ordinary ocean salt water

The brass and aluminum will have no problems with salt water.
The mesh (I think) is galvanized steel. It is the same mesh that Rylan had picked to ship with the Peachy.
I just checked some of my other meshes that have spent significant amounts of time in the salt waters part of my "drip" based Peachy. The mesh still looks good. I see no signs of rusting or metal fatigue on these meshes.

Sounds like you guys have done a ton of work to get towards a working peachy-clone printer using whatever could be salvaged from the fallout of the project. I have hopes of eventually building my own Peachy now after reading through some of your accomplishments. Mostly posting here to keep track of the thread, but being a professional software developer and Arduino programmer myself, if there's any assistance I can offer, please please let me know.

Couple questions, I know initially the Peachy was supposed to run off of common sound cards, that was scrapped because everyone's hardware was different. In the meantime the Raspberry Pi Zero W has arrived on the market, and it is a known quantity when it comes to it's audio circuit. Could something be built around the audio-out on that board, or it's GPIO as it's far more capable than the older Arduino chips. An ESP8266 might also be an option, could be code-compatible with what's out there, and is bit faster. Plus Wifi!

Anyways just my $.02 and hope of eventually having a Peachy-type printer of my own some day.